The Story Behind Bear for an Angel

In October 2006, I experienced the loss of my first baby, Tayten, to a chemical pregnancy.

Then, in April 2010, I became pregnant again. After experiencing a tiny bleed, I was sent for an emergency scan. It was there that we discovered there was no heartbeat.

I will never forget hearing those words: “There’s no heartbeat.”

Those words have stayed with me ever since. In that moment, my heart broke. We had already imagined a future for our precious baby and had so many hopes and plans. Suddenly, they were gone.

What made the experience even more devastating was that, despite having seen our baby on the ultrasound, we weren't offered a photograph or given anything tangible to acknowledge their existence. We had lost our baby, but had nothing to hold on to as a reminder that they had been here.

My partner bought us a personalised teddy bear, and we found that having something physical to represent our baby brought us a small amount of comfort during an incredibly painful time.

With the support of my family, I decided that no other family should have to experience that same feeling of having nothing to remember their baby by. And so, Bear for an Angel was born.

After experiencing further losses ourselves and hearing from other families, I began to realise just how little support and acknowledgement was available for families who lose a baby early in pregnancy.

In 2017, following the loss of my fifth baby, Quinn, I began putting together small bags filled with meaningful keepsakes. I was determined to get them into hospitals so that families could receive something tangible to acknowledge their precious baby.

With the support of bereavement midwife Ali Brett, I was able to introduce them into Ipswich Hospital. We named them Quinn’s Bags of Hope, in memory of our precious Quinn.

Since then, Bear for an Angel has continued to support hospital EPAUs and families directly across the UK.

Each Quinn’s Bag of Hope costs approximately £2.50 to put together. We are a small community project, run by a small team, and every bag we provide depends on the kindness and generosity of our supporters.

Although each bag is a small gift, to a grieving family it can mean so much.

It provides acknowledgement, comfort and something tangible to hold on to at a time when they may feel that their baby has been forgotten or that their loss doesn't matter.

But their baby does matter.

No baby is too small to be recognised.

No baby should be forgotten.

Every baby deserves to be acknowledged.

Demand for Quinn’s Bags of Hope continues to grow, and we desperately want to be able to reach even more families and hospitals across the UK.

It would mean the world to us if you would support Bear for an Angel — a small community project created by a bereaved family, born from our own experiences of baby loss, and driven by the simple desire to make an incredibly difficult journey just a little less lonely for others.

Together, we can make sure every little life is remembered. ❤️

www.bearforanangel.com

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